Customers who use Penelec as their power generation supplier will be paying less for their electricity beginning Friday.

The residential rate for electricity will decrease from 6.19 cents per kilowatt hour to 5.38 cents per kwh, said spokesman Scott Surgeoner of FirstEnergy Corp., Penelec’s parent company.

The average residential customer who uses 750 kilowatt hours per month will see their bill decrease from $101.79 to $96.97, about a 5 percent decrease.

“The decrease is a result of the ‘market forces at work.’ The price of natural gas remains low, and we know that helps determine the price of electricity,” Surgeoner said.

The power generation costs have fluctuated since Dec. 31, 2010, when electricity caps expired. The electric generation rate, which Penelec calls its price to compare, is updated quarterly. Electric bills are divided into two parts: the cost of generating electricity and the cost of transmission for maintaining electric lines, etc.

Consumers can choose their electric supplier. For the Altoona area, there are 47 providers in addition to Penelec.

The other providers’ rates for the area, according to PAPowerSwitch.com, range from Inspire at 4.99 cents per kilowatt hour (variable rate with no term length) to Residents Energy LLC at 11.52 cents per kilowatt hour (variable rate with no term length).

Meanwhile, other options are being offered through the ChamberChoice program.

Tri Eagle Energy, a retail energy provider since 2002, and OnDemand Energy Solutions, an independent energy services firm, have teamed up on residential energy.

Through the Chamber­Choice energy program managed by OnDemand Energy, residential customers in the Blair County area can lock in energy rates. Tri Eagle is offering three options: 6.02 cents per kwh for 36 months, 6.01 cents per kwh for 24 months or 6.00 cents per kwh for 12 months, said Phil Orend, marketing director for OnDemand Energy Solutions.

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 946-7467.